Beit Amin Village Profile Prepared by The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem Funded by Spanish Cooperation 2013 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Acknowledgments ARIJ hereby expresses its deep gratitude to the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID) for their funding of this project. ARIJ is grateful to the Palestinian officials in the ministries, municipalities, joint services councils, village committees and councils, and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) for their assistance and cooperation with the project team members during the data collection process. ARIJ would also like to thank all the staff who worked throughout the past couple of years towards the accomplishment of this work. 1 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Background This report is part of a series of booklets, which contain compiled information about each city, town, and village in the Qalqiliya Governorate. These booklets came as a result of a comprehensive study of all localities in Qalqiliya Governorate, which aims at to depict the overall living conditions in the governorate and presenting developmental plans to assist in improving the livelihood of the population in the area. It was accomplished through the "Village Profiles and Needs Assessment;" the project funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID). The "Village Profiles and Needs Assessment" was designed to study, investigate, analyze and document the socio-economic conditions and the needed programs and activities to mitigate the impact of the current unsecure political, economic and social conditions in Qalqiliya Governorate. The project's objectives are to survey, analyze, and document the available natural, human, socioeconomic and environmental resources, and the existing limitations and needs assessment for the development of the rural and marginalized areas in Qalqiliya Governorate. In addition, the project aims to prepare strategic developmental programs and activities to mitigate the impact of the current political, social, and economic instability with the focus on the agricultural sector. All locality profiles in Arabic and English are available online at http://vprofile.arij.org. 2 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Table of Contents Location and Physical Characteristics ___________________________ 4 History _____________________________________________________________ 5 Religious and Archaeological Sites _______________________________ 6 Population _________________________________________________________ 6 Education __________________________________________________________ 7 Health Status ______________________________________________________ 8 Economic Activities _______________________________________________ 8 Agricultural Sector _______________________________________________ 10 Institutions and Services _________________________________________ 13 Infrastructure and Natural Resources ___________________________ 13 Environmental Conditions _______________________________________ 15 Impact of the Israeli Occupation ________________________________ 15 Development Plans and Projects _________________________________ 18 Implemented Projects ____________________________________________ 18 Proposed Projects_________________________________________________ 18 Locality Development Priorities and Needs _____________________ 19 References ________________________________________________________ 20 3 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Beit Amin Village Profile Location and physical characteristics Beit Amin is a Palestinian village in the Qalqiliya Governorate located 8.35km south-east- of Qalqiliya City. It is bordered by Sanniriya village to the east, Al Mudawwar and ‘Izbat al Ashqar to the south, ‘Izbat Salman to the west, and ‘Azzun ‘Atma to the north (ARIJ-GIS, 2013) (see map 1). Map 1: Beit Amin location and borders Source: ARIJ - GIS Unit, 2013 Beit Amin is located at an altitude of 99m above sea level with a mean annual rainfall of 590.7mm. The average annual temperature is 19oC and the average annual humidity is approximately 62% (ARIJ-GIS, 2013). The classification of the residential areas borders has been adopted in this profile based on the administrative division of Palestinian communities, according to the Palestinian National Authority(PNA). This administrative division system has been developed by the Palestinian Ministry of 4 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Planning, the Ministry of Local Government, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics(PCBS), and the Central Election Commission (CEC). Since 1999, Beit Amin has been governed by a Village Council which is currently administrated by 7 members appointed by the Palestinian National Authority. There are also 3 employees working in the council within a permanent headquarters (Beit Amin Village Council, 2012). It is the responsibility of the Village Council to provide a number of services to the residents of Beit Amin, including: The establishment and maintenance of the drinking water and electricity networks. Waste collection and street cleaning. Road paving, construction and restoration. (Beit Amin Village Council, 2012) History Beit Amin village’s was named after Benjamin, the brother of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph). Benjamin lived in the village and was buried in Qalqiliya city. Over time the village’s name was converted into Beit Amin. The village was established in 1935 A.D. However the ancestors of its residents originally came from the neighboring village of Sanniriya (Beit Amin Village Council, 2012). Photo of Beit Amin 5 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Religious and archaeological sites There is only one mosque in the village,Beit Amin Mosque. The village has several sites of archaeological interest including an ancient Roman Khirba (ruins) and the Al Khan wells. These wells were previously used for a place of rest for traders, as Beit Amin lies on an old commercial route. Almost mostly destroyed, the remains of the wells can still be seen today.However none of these sites are suitable for tourism as determined by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiques (Beit Amin Village Council, 2012) (see ,ap 2). Map 2: Main locations in Beit Amin Village source: ARIJ - GIS Unit, 2013. Population According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the total population of Beit Amin in 2007 was 981, of whom 519 were male and 462 female. There were 168 households registered as living in 174 housing units. 6 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate Age groups and gender The General Census of Population and Housing, carried out by the PCBS in 2007, showed that the distribution of age groups in Beit Amin was as follows: 42% were less than 15 years of age, 55% were between 15 and 64 years of age, and 2.3% were 65 years of age or older. Data also showed that the gender ratio of males to females in the village is 112.3:100, meaning that males and females constituted 52.9% and 47.1% of the population, respectively. Families Beit Amin residents are from several families, including the Ash Sheikh, Ahmad and Omar families (Beit Amin Village Council, 2012). Education According to the results of the PCBS Population, Housing and Establishment Census - 2007, the illiteracy rate among Beit Amin’s population is approximately 7.6%, of whom 81% are females. 18.5% could only read and write with no formal education, 31% had elementary education, 25.8% had preparatory education, 12.9% had secondary education, and 4.3% had completed higher education. Table 1 shows the educational level in the village of Beit Amin by gender and educational attainment in 2007. Table 1: Beit Amin population (10 years and above) by sex and educational attainment S Can Illite- Element- Preparat- Second- Associate Higher Master Unknow E read & Bachelor PhD Total rate ary ory ary Diploma Diploma s n x write M 10 73 124 106 37 5 13 0 1 0 0 369 F 43 56 93 74 53 2 9 0 0 0 0 330 T 53 129 217 180 90 7 22 0 1 0 0 699 Source: PCBS, 2009. There is only one public school in the village (Beit Amin Co-educational Elementary School) run by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education, but there are no kindergartens (Directorate of Education in Qalqiliya, 2012). There are 245 students, 17 teachers and 10 classes in the village. The average number of students per teacher in the school is 14, whilst the average number of students per class is approximately 25 (Directorate of Education in Qalqiliya, 2012). The educational sector in Beit Amin village faces a number of obstacles, including: The lack female-only schools; the only available school is mixed. The lack of secondary schools. The lack of playgrounds and yards for the school. 7 Palestinian Localities Study Qalqiliya Governorate The existence of the Segregation Wall making it difficult to access secondary schools in neighboring villages. The lack of a scientific lab in the school. The wastewater flowing from the Sha'are Tikva settlement on to the secondary schools of the neighboring village, causing health problems.(Beit Amin Village Council, 2012) Health status Beit Amin has no health facilities of any kind. The Medical Relief organizes a medical day once every two weeks which includes the services of a general physician, a gynecologist and a mobile medical laboratory. However, due to the absence of many required health services and/or in emergencies, patients are transferred to Darweesh Nazzal Hospital, to the Health